The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
Softball preview: vs. No. 5 Oklahoma [April 10-12, 2015]
04.09.2015 | Softball
Texas heads back into Big 12 Conference play by hosting a three-game league set versus the Sooners
Texas Game Notes vs. #5 Oklahoma
No. RV Texas (27-9, 3-0 Big 12) vs. No. 5 Oklahoma (33-5, 6-0 Big 12) | April 10-12 | Red & Charline McCombs Field
Schedule:
Fri., April 10 – #5 Oklahoma at #RV Texas – 4:30 p.m. CT – Austin, Texas
Sat., April 11 – #5 Oklahoma at #RV Texas – 1 p.m. CT – Austin, Texas
Sun., April 12 – #5 Oklahoma at #RV Texas – 12 p.m. CT – Austin, Texas
Ticket Information: LINK
Live Stats: LINK
Television: All three contests are slated for live broadcast on Longhorn Network with Alex Loeb (play-by-play) and Megan Willis (analyst) on the call. WATCH ESPN (ONLINE): FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SUNDAY
Radio: All three games are scheduled for broadcast with Terry Lewis on the call via the following link (also accessible on smartphones/you can listen in stadium on 90.3 FM): LINK
Promotions:
Friday –
TRADING CARD GIVEAWAY - Texas softball trading cards of select players will be handed out to fans inside Gate 4 at the Texas Athletics sales table, while supplies last.
Saturday –
"PINK AT THE PLATE" - The Horns for Hope initiative for community enrichment is proud to help raise breast cancer awareness on our campus and in our community. Join us as we celebrate the strength and courage of the countless individuals fighting this terrible disease. Wear PINK to support the cause as we do our part to educate the next generation of young people on how early detection can save lives in the fight against breast cancer.
CATCH IN THE OUTFIELD/KIDS RUN THE BASES - Kids eighth grade-and-under are invited down to the field postgame to run the bases and play catch in the outfield. Kids should bring their own glove and ball.
Sunday –
"TEXAS TRADITIONS" - Bring your camera for photo opportunities with BEVO XIV, Smokey the Cannon, Texas Cheer, and Hook 'Em! Photo ops available 11 a.m. – noon CT.
Base Knocks:
- It's time to renew the "Red River Rivalry" between Texas and Oklahoma. The two teams have met 52 times overall with the Sooners leading the all-time series 28-24. The Longhorns lead the way in Austin, boasting a 10-9 home record, but dropped two-of-three to OU in the last series contested at McCombs Field over April 19-21, 2013. Oklahoma has won nine of the last 15 meetings between the two programs dating back to March 28, 2009.
- Texas and Oklahoma enter this weekend as the top two HR-hitting teams in the Big 12 Conference. The Sooners have bashed a ridiculous 80 big flies, while the Longhorns boast 40 HR's this season.
- Texas and Oklahoma enter this weekend's series as two of the hottest teams in the nation. Of the NFCA Top 25 teams (as of April 7), only James Madison (20-game win streak) is currently riding a longer winning streak than the nine consecutive victories possessed by both the Longhorns and Sooners. This marks Texas' longest victory skein of the year, while Oklahoma already registered a 14-game win streak from February 21-March 17.
- Texas and Oklahoma hit the diamond over April 10-12 as the only two remaining unbeaten teams in the Big 12 Conference. At 6-0 in Big 12 action, the Sooners already own league sweeps over Texas Tech and Iowa State, while the Longhorns (3-0 in the Big 12) ventured to Lawrence, Kan., over March 27-29 to sweep No. 22 Kansas.
- Sophomore shortstop Devon Tunning has been prolific this year as Texas' lead-off hitter, reaching a remarkable 60.7 percent of the time when starting an inning (34-of-56 times). Recently, she's added a power threat at the dish as the Montgomery, Texas, native has registered a pair of two-HR performances over Texas' last three games (at Texas State, vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi). Tunning is the only Longhorns player to have recorded a multi-HR effort this season and now owns a career-high five HR's in 2015.
- If you look at this year's statistics, it's pretty obvious that Texas loves to jump on teams right from the start. UT enters this weekend's series against No. 5 Oklahoma having scored in the first inning in eight consecutive contests. The Longhorns have scored 57 runs during the first inning (24 percent of its total runs), the most of any single frame, and 118 of its total tallies (50 percent) over the opening three innings.
- UT hasn't shied away from playing some of the best teams in the nation in 2015 and has had a lot of success in those contests. Texas now owns a 6-3 mark against ranked squads this year with victories over No. 16 Arizona State, No. 8/7 Georgia, No. 12 UCLA and No. 22 Kansas (three wins). That tough schedule has helped lead to a No. 20 ranking in the most recent release of the NCAA's Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) on April 6, a tool used to select and seed teams for the NCAA Tournament Field of 64. Texas can boast of seven wins over top 27-rated RPI squads, UCLA (nine), Arizona State (12), Kansas (14-three wins), Georgia (25) and Northwestern (27).
- Entering the series against No. 5 Oklahoma, several Longhorns have some solid streaks going. Sophomore shortstop Devon Tunning has reached base in a career-best 21 straight contests, the longest streak for any UT player this season and tied for the second-longest streak for a Longhorn batter over the last two seasons (2014 longest streaks - Brejae Washington-33 games, Lindsey Stephens-21 games). Junior catcher Erin Shireman (career-long streak) and junior center fielder Lindsey Stephens have each reached successfully in 11 straight contests. Meanwhile, Stephens and junior second baseman Stephanie Ceo are currently riding six-game hitting streaks.
- After dealing with some error issues defensively during the early portion of the 2015 campaign as a result of an unsettled infield line-up, things have improved significantly for the Longhorns since suffering through a three-miscue game against Lamar on Feb. 28 (three errors). Over the last 18 contests, Texas has committed just nine total errors for a solid .980 fielding percentage while going mistake-free in 11 of those match-ups. That's certainly had an influence on UT's solid 16-2 record over those last 18 games.
- Sophomore left fielder Stephanie Wong has proven an incredibly tough out at the plate over Texas' last 15 games, batting a blistering .469 over that stretch (23-for-49) with hits in 13 of her last 15 games, a .527 on-base percentage, five walks, four doubles, a triple, a HR and eight RBIs. She recently posted a streak of reaching base safely over a career-best 18 straight games and managed both a seven- and six-game hitting streak.
